This is the beginning of the “icky” work as one of my typing clients put it. Our Saboteurs are the neural fixations we use to cope with all kinds of things life throws at us. Their origination comes from mainly our childhood message which dictates our fears, passion and longings but we will get there in the next few weeks. For now, these nasty characters (as Shirzad Chamine describes them - the founder of PQ Intelligence™) show up in our daily lives as we react to stress. Shirzad only mentions the Enneagram one time in his book, PQ Intelligence, however they are most definitely related.

Below, I have listed the Saboteurs by Type and their original strengths (in parenthesis). Maybe you see yourself in one of them. As you will see, the Saboteur is the negative side of our strengths, our strengths taken to the extreme.

Type 1 Stickler:  Perfectionism and a need for order and organization taken too far. (high standards, detailed-oriented, able to bring order and organization into ambiguity and chaos)

Type 2 Pleaser:  Indirectly tries to gain acceptance and affection by helping, pleasing, rescuing or flattering others.  Loses sight of own needs and becomes resentful as a result. (empathetic, loving and giving)

Type 3 Hyper-Achiever: Dependent on constant performance and achievement for self-respect and self-validation (attention and acceptance from others). Leads to unsustainable workaholic tendencies and loss of touch with deeper emotional and relationship needs. (driven, pragmatic, goal-oriented, self-directed)

Type 4 Victim:  Emotional and temperamental as a way to get attention and affection.  An extreme focus on internal feelings, particularly painful ones.  Martyr streak. (sensitive, feels own emotions deeply and clearly, capable of deep, courageous introspection)

Type 5 Hyper-Rational: Intense and exclusive focus on the rational processing of everything including relationships.  Can be perceived as cold, distant and intellectually arrogant. (capable of deep insight and understanding through objective analysis)

Type 6 Hyper-Vigilant:  Continuous intense anxiety about all the dangers and what could go wrong.  Vigilance that can never rest. (sensitive and aware of true risks to self, others and institutions)

Type 7 Restless:  Constantly in search of greater excitement in the next activity or constant busyness.  Rarely at peace or content with the current activity. Restlessness could be a strategy to escape from dealing with fears, anxieties and painful feelings.  (high energy and vitality, open, curious and spontaneous)

Type 8 Controller: Anxiety-based need to take care and control situations and people’s actions to one’s own will. High anxiety and impatience when that is not possible.   (confident, decisive, action-oriented, persistent)

Type 9 Avoider:  Focus on the positive and pleasant in an extreme way.  Avoiding difficult and unpleasant tasks and conflicts. (easy-going, even-keeled, adaptable and flexible)

Based on our Enneagram type, we can generally see about five of these types in our lives (of varying degrees, check mine out) based on our dominant type, wings and arrows. This information is a powerful personal growth tool. Bringing awareness to our Saboteurs is a relationship builder (and saver). I hope this information proves to be of value to you! I know it has rocked my world.